Walt Disney World has revealed a primary look contained in the renovated visitor rooms at Pop Century Resort, that are presently within the means of a year-long delicate items refurbishment venture. This shares pictures of the up to date lodging, progress report, and whether or not it is best to keep away from staying at Pop Century through the venture.
The visitor room renovations at Disney’s Pop Century Resort are one of some resort tasks in 2025-2026, with a number of different in style resorts beneath refurbishment now or within the coming months. Keep watch over our Walt Disney World Resort Building Tracker for additional updates.
Let’s begin with the official announcement from Walt Disney World in regards to the Pop Century room redo: From late March 2025 to mid-February 2026, visitor rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort will endure refurbishment. Whereas all resort facilities will stay accessible, chances are you’ll discover building throughout daytime hours.
This isn’t the one latest main change at Pop Century. The resort has been within the midst of a prolonged refurbishment of The whole lot POP Procuring & Eating that has been prolonged a number of occasions, however is now lastly completed. The whole lot POP has revealed a recent coloration scheme and new seating areas to make it extra inviting.
This new seating space is good. The colours, patterns, and textures all work effectively. It appears to be like clear and has a mid-century aptitude because of the upholstery, flooring, and lighting fixtures. There’s additionally a larger selection to the seating, with cubicles, tables, and chairs including a extra laid again lounge sort of vibe.
Walt Disney World introduced a New Espresso Store Coming to Pop Century Throughout Worth Resort Refurbishments a few months in the past. That opened shortly earlier than Easter, providing specialty drinks to perk up friends all through the day, and is the entire motive why Disney switched up the fashion of seating round The whole lot Pop. Talking of which, listed here are pictures of the completed seating space outdoors the espresso store:
Final month, Walt Disney World rolled out Airport Baggage Switch on the Worth Resorts, which was a pilot program that began at Pop Century. Friends staying at these Walt Disney World Resort lodges can drop checked baggage off with Baggage Help to be delivered on to your flight.
A brand new third-party service, often called BagCheck, will take your baggage on to the airport on your Southwest Airways flight. Presently, this pilot service is out there at Worth Resort lodges for Friends with Southwest Airways flights departing from Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO).
Along with this, this summer season friends staying at choose resorts – Artwork of Animation Resort, Pop Century Resort, Caribbean Seaside Resort and Wilderness Lodge – will be capable of get pleasure from much more Disney-themed actions for “Cool Child Summer season.” These actions will embrace character visits with set look occasions that can assist you plan your day and an expanded itinerary of issues to do with your loved ones all through your keep at these 4 resorts.
All in all, a reasonably good slate of “plussings” at Pop Century Resort. Now, the primary redone rooms are rising, and are likewise good enhancements. Listed below are pictures of the redone rooms, courtesy of Walt Disney World…
For many who are unfamiliar with the previous/present visitor rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, right here’s a rundown of the key adjustments.
First, the partitions have been painted blue. If I had a nickel for each fan who described the earlier Pop Century rooms as bland, boring, sterile, hospital-like, antiseptic, naked, or dystopian…I’d have at the least $5. Which isn’t some huge cash, nevertheless it’s however quite a lot of nickels.
Provided that, one in all our hopes for the 2025-2026 Disney’s Pop Century Resort room refurbishment was that they’d add extra coloration to deal with visitor quibbles with these being bland and boring. We beforehand wrote that “portray the wall behind the tv pink or gentle blue would alone do wonders.”
This isn’t the wall behind the tv, it’s the partitions round and behind the beds–so much more has been painted gentle blue. We’ll take it! (For the sake of comparability, a photograph of the previous rooms is beneath.)
Different adjustments are extra minor. For instance, there look like new chairs that accompany the desk. These look similar to the earlier chairs, however now have plush backs with a noticed fashion.
There’s additionally a brand new curtain masking the window, which seems to function Mickey Mouse in a pop artwork fashion. Not an enormous distinction from what was there earlier than, however extra distinctly Disney, which is a win–particularly given widespread visitor complaints in regards to the lack of character.
The flooring has additionally been changed. It appears to be like barely darker within the photograph, however that may very well be a matter of lighting or enhancing. We all know the flooring was changed, although, as a result of we noticed the contractor on website and flooring removing taking place final month.
Lastly and maybe most notably, there’s a coloured accent rug with an attention-grabbing mid-century trendy sample. This rug ought to additional deal with complaints in regards to the rooms being bland and boring, whereas additionally serving to to muffle some sound. That rug actually ties the room collectively!
As famous above, that is solely a delicate items refurbishment. This usually means updating furnishings, together with however not restricted to wall coverings, flooring, linens, decor, flooring and a few furnishings.
The definition of a delicate items refurbishment is a bit nebulous, and has included formidable tasks for sure resorts. Some have acquired delicate items refurbishments in the previous few years that included set up of the brand new pull-down beds. Others have swapped out virtually all the furnishings and furnishings, giving completely new appears to be like to the rooms.
Others have merely refreshed the decor and infused extra character into the rooms by including character artwork, extra coloration, and little particulars. These rooms would very a lot be recognizable in a earlier than vs. after comparability, however had been nonetheless incremental enhancements. As is fairly apparent from the earlier than vs. after comparability, this finest describes the Pop Century room refurbishment now that we’ve seen the completed product.
Nearly all of Walt Disney World’s room refurbishment tasks within the final a number of years have improved upon their predecessors. Not all of them have been good (removed from it), however they’ve been upgrades for probably the most half. Followers would possibly disagree with this, however we’re typically viewing these adjustments by way of the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia. Pop Century’s room renovations proceed this development.
The 2017 reimagining of Pop Century was one of many very first ‘trendy’ era of resort room designs at Walt Disney World. Previous to this, I’d argue that Walt Disney World room redos had been heading within the flawed path with overly generic and homogenized kinds and no practical enhancements to in any other case justify the tasteless designs.
Pop Century’s redone rooms provided huge enhancements to make them recent and practical, with a bunch of intelligent space-saving design options added. Whereas the footprint remains to be the identical, the ensuing rooms really feel a lot bigger. There’s extra storage, one of many beds folds up into the wall to disclose a desk, and rather more.
For probably the most half, the brand new format has been uncontroversial with Walt Disney World followers. The design enhancements have been so well-received amongst friends that the very same format was subsequently adopted in any respect three of the All Stars. A number of managers on the Worth Resorts, have indicated to us that visitor suggestions has been virtually unanimously optimistic.
Walt Disney World took a “don’t repair what isn’t damaged” method to Pop Century rooms, leaving the format unchanged whereas addressing the most important criticisms about coloration, bland and boring designs. This in all probability nonetheless isn’t going to please everybody, nevertheless it undeniably addresses widespread complaints.
From our perspective, these are an incremental improve on the earlier rooms. We liked them earlier than, and we love them much more now. I may’ve used one other piece of artwork on the wall, however in any other case am very happy by this. The accent rug, specifically, is a pleasing shock. I’m actually a bit shocked Disney would add rugs to the Worth Resorts–among the redone Deluxe Resorts didn’t even obtain this!
The 2025-2026 visitor room venture at Pop Century is being finished building-by-building. That is fairly commonplace, and signifies that Walt Disney World takes a whole constructing out of the room stock, overhauls it all of sudden, after which reopens that constructing. Generally this occurs in halves, which means that it’s attainable to be in a room with energetic building occurring–particularly widespread when it’s solely a delicate items venture.
That is finished to reduce the development affect. This fashion, nobody is getting caught in a room proper subsequent to 1 that’s beneath energetic building. It’s good for friends and in addition for Disney, as they don’t should cope with the inevitable complaints and relocating friends. It’s solely attainable that you possibly can keep at Pop Century and never even understand there’s building taking place if the constructing being redone is on the opposite facet of the resort.
It’s our understanding that work is presently occurring within the 50s part of Pop Century, beginning with Constructing 1. That was the case final we noticed, which was the center of final month. It’s unclear if, with the discharge of those pictures, Constructing 1 is now completed and has reopened to friends. In any case, we’d count on work to proceed within the 50s earlier than transferring to different sections of the resort. Buildings 2-3 will likely be subsequent as much as be redone.
After that, work may proceed to the 60s part, or bounce to the opposite facet of the resort and hit the periphery there with the 90s, 80s, and 70s. That method is usually taken to reduce the visitor affect, and avoiding working across the pool. On this case, my guess is that the buildings simply go in (roughly) sequential order.
The visitor affect of this building ought to be minimal. Pop Century having clusters of outlying buildings makes one of these venture much less impactful than it’d be at most of the different resorts. At this level, we do NOT advocate avoiding Pop Century in 2025 or 2026.
Acknowledged with out the double-negative, Pop Century stays one in all high resort lodges in all of Walt Disney World for 2025-2026. That is doubly true now that we’ve seen the brand new rooms, and together with all the different latest enhancements at Pop Century.
As for room requests, that’s a tad difficult at this level. For one factor, we don’t have boots on the bottom at this second, so it’s unclear to us whether or not Constructing 1 has reopened. It’s attainable that Walt Disney World is sharing these pictures as a result of the primary friends are about to test into the brand new rooms; it’s additionally attainable that is the very first room to be completed, however the constructing remains to be beneath the knife.
Even when Constructing 1 is finished, requesting it’ll put you on the far facet of Pop Century and adjoining to Buildings 2-3, which is able to turn into energetic building zones as soon as work strikes to these. So it’s actually your name–would you like a brand new room so badly that you just’re keen to be subsequent to one of many buildings that’s a piece zone?
That’s the request we’ll be making with our subsequent keep at Pop Century, however to every their very own on that. Give it a pair extra months, and there ought to be extra of a buffer so you may request a brand new room with out being proper subsequent to a constructing beneath energetic building. (Join our Free Walt Disney World Publication for updates on this and different developments. We’ll maintain you posted on Pop Century progress.)
In the end, we’re happy with the completed product of the room refurbishment at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Once more, we had been followers of the rooms earlier than and this solely makes them higher. The bones of the room had been already good and didn’t have to be addressed, in order that they centered on addressing criticism in regards to the rooms being overly sterile.
From our perspective, that is an incremental enchancment–however a significant one. The aesthetics are higher, giving the room extra of a mid-century fashion with extra character and pops of coloration. I’m certain some followers will nonetheless be unhappy with these rooms, however for a Worth Resort, we expect these are distinctive. They’re as soon as once more finest in school, and arguably higher than some Average and Deluxe Resort rooms. That’s actually saying one thing given the price differential.
To every their very own, however that is completely a win for us–acquire, don’t repair what isn’t damaged. Pop Century doesn’t “want” enhancements to just about the identical diploma as different resorts and already punches effectively above its weight. There’s a motive why it’s so excessive up our Rankings of All Walt Disney World Resorts from Finest to Worst!
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Your Ideas
Are you a fan of Pop Century’s renovated rooms or do you continue to assume these look bland and boring? Are a number of pops of coloration adequate for you, or does Disney want to return to the drafting board and completely redo these rooms once more? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
